A Disaster is Coming, What Will You Do?
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Don't wait for the storm to come! Be ready for when disaster strikes with foolproof disaster planning! |
Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute - Take the First Step in Emergency Preparedness Now
The absolute number one action you need to take to make perfect survival plans would be to start making your set of plans well ahead of any man made or natural disasters coming your way. Of course that may seem like common sense. Unfortunately a lot of people will actually wait until the last minute, such as when they hear news that a natural disaster is coming before they start preparing.
When people wait until the last minute and are frantically gathering survival supplies, it causes shortages of food, water, and other necessities for survival.
More over, most man made and natural disasters don't often give you a warning that they are about to strike, and if you don’t have the emergency supplies before the disaster, you may not get a chance at all even if supplies are in abundance as anything can happen during a disastrous situation.
Developing your set of emergency plans well ahead of time will help reduce the overall stress, fear, and anxiety experienced during a man made or natural disaster, will make survival and keeping your family and loved ones safe much easier, and will make the disaster recovery process easier.
How Do I Start Disaster Planning?
Your next action to making perfect disaster plans is to evaluate your house and community for any hazard or risk in order to identify all of your risk exposure in your house and community.
It is important that you evaluate your community just as well as your house, as your everyday lifestyle involves your community and neither a man-made or natural disaster will wait until you get home to strike.
To maximize the stability of your emergency plans, take into consideration all the tools of devastation used by mother nature and mankind such as; floods, riots, tornadoes, technological disasters, protests, drought, worker strikes, fire, blizzards, chemicals, etc. when you are identifying your risk exposures.
Get Advice from the Experts Dealing With Emergency Response and the Aftermath of a Disaster
By contacting your local emergency management office, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), American Red Cross, Cert (community emergency response teams), your Insurance Company Representative, work place, schools your child/children attend, local Fire and Law Enforcement Officials, Township and Utilities Representatives, you can learn more about your risk exposures and get advice on how to prepare.
Some good questions to ask that will provide you with some very useful risk assessment information from these agencies and the places you spend time at are below; so be sure to take notes when you call or talk to them.
FEMA, Cert, American Red Cross, & Other Experts Dealing With Emergency Response and the Aftermath of a Disaster Ought to Know, So Ask Them This:
1. What types of disasters are most likely to happen in your community?
You may be surprised to find out about human caused, natural, or technological disasters that can affect your area that you were not aware of.
Remember to include major chemical emergencies that can occur anywhere chemical substances are stored, manufactured, or transported in your surrounding area.
2. How can you prepare for each of the disasters most likely to happen in your community?
Get the advice of the experts in the industry of man made and natural disaster preparation, as their trained in dealing with emergency response and the aftermath of disasters; they will have an abundance of disaster preparedness information and advice for how to prepare.
You can use this and the disaster preparedness information you get from all of these questions as a rough draft to help develop a solid set of emergency plans.
3. Is there a warning system used to alert the community of disasters?
It is important to know all of the alert systems that your community utilizes for natural and man made disasters that are typical to your area, and what you should do when there is an alert.
4. What are the disaster plans for your workplace, your children’s school or day care center, and other places where members of your family spend time?
Write down the disaster plans your workplace, child’s/children’s schools or day care, and other places you and your loved ones spend time at, so that not only will you know what to expect from those places in the event of a natural or man made disaster, but it may provide you with additions for your own disaster plan rough draft that you may not have thought about yet.
You do not want to be caught off guard when it comes to a man made or natural disaster, your survival could depend on how prepared you are, where ever you are.
5. How can you help the elderly, disabled, or other special needs people you care for prepare for disasters?
There may be special needs to consider, such as the need for medications, certain foods, service animals, mobility aids, etc., that you or your loved ones may not be able to survive without in the event of a man made or natural disaster.
6. What do you need to consider when caring for pets through the effects of a disaster?
Don't forget to have a plan and supplies for your furry companions. If evacuation to a public shelter is an only option you have during a natural or man made disaster, then you will need to plan a place for your pet to go as they are not permitted in public shelters. According to many local health department regulations, pets (other than service animals) are not permitted in places where food is served.
Be Descriptive With Your Disaster Plans
The next step in your disaster planning is to now ask yourself this: “What would I do if…?” Incorporate any disaster preparedness information and advice given by agencies such as FEMA, CERT, your local American Red Cross chapter, etc. into these what if questions by discussing with your loved ones the risk assessment and disaster preparedness information you got from the risk exposure evaluation.
Have your loved ones help you answer the “what if” question and create as many scenarios as possible (example: What if a tornado came and it sent a fence post through the window and into Jenny’s leg?).
It’s a good idea to write out each scenario of what might happen to you, your family, and loved ones with as much detail as possible, describing what you would do and what supplies you would use. This will help you create your survival supplies check lists, develop an emergency communication plan in case family becomes separated, create an evacuation plan, and it will be less likely that you will leave something vital out.
Keeping in mind vital needs, such as fresh water sources, you should discuss with your family about evacuation meeting spots, ways to stay informed and up to date on the disastrous situation, and ways to stay in contact with each other in case of separation or a mandatory evacuation from your house or community.
Then incorporate what you said you would do for each scenario, the survival supplies you would need, as well as evacuation meeting spots, ways to stay informed, and communication plans into a rough draft of emergency check lists and emergency plans.
Emergency Response Training May Come in Handy
Learn more about safety measures such as CPR and first aid as you never know when you will need it.
In addition, you will want to know where and how to turn off the gas, water, and electricity to your home, as well as how to use your fire extinguisher in an attempt to prevent more destruction from happening during the event of man made and natural disasters.
Review your emergency plans rough drafts to see if you need to make any changes or additions, then make whatever changes and additions to create the final drafts.
Last But Not Least When it Comes to Disaster Planning
Finally, in order for your set of plans to be as perfect and foolproof as possible you will need to rehearse your plans so that you are familiar with what you will need to do in the event of man made and natural disasters.
With all the stress, fear, and anxiety caused by a disaster you can’t expect your brain to utilize a plan that it is not very familiar with.
Your rehearsals need to be acted out as real as possible, this will help train your brain for thinking clearly in a crisis situation. Turn off electricity for a week, fake injuries, separations, and live off what you have.
It will greatly benefit you to rehearse at least every six months, as it will not only better prepare you for a disaster, but will help you keep track of your survival supplies.
Teachers and parents didn’t tell us “practice makes perfect” because they liked to hear how well they could pronounce their “p’s”, what makes someone good at what they do is practice and repetition, and it is the key to minimizing the devastating effects that a disaster can have on your life.
Copyright © 11/20/2010 originally on HubPages by A.K. Love